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Tom Lee / Stuff
Damien O’Connor said most of the initiatives were led by established recruitment groups with hundreds of farmer members.
More than $ 6 million will be spent to help farmers improve the health of rivers, wetlands and habitat biodiversity in Canterbury and Otago, as well as to improve long-term land management practices, says the minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor.
Four Jobs for Nature projects from the farmer-led recruitment group have allocated between $ 176,000 and $ 2.3 million over the next three years to fund environmental improvement work at dozens of sites in their regions.
That includes $ 362,000 for a riparian sustainable land management project in North Otago, $ 2.2 million for the Tinaku project in Ellesmere, and $ 176,000 for the Pomahaka wetland restoration project.
Another $ 2.9 million will go to help some 300 Hurunui farmers work to improve the health of their land and water through the application of agricultural environmental planning and sustainable land management practices.
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Jobs for Nature is a $ 1.245 billion program, part of the Covid-19 recovery package. Manage funding across multiple government agencies for the benefit of the environment, people and regions.
The projects will employ 15 to 20 people, as well as specialized contractors.
O’Connor said most of the initiatives were led by established recruitment groups with hundreds of farmer members. The work would involve fencing and planting around bodies of water, felling unsuitable trees, and pest control. Projects also included the construction of a boardwalk for wetlands and structures to protect endangered fish from predatory species.
He said the projects would build on the work farmers were already doing to nurture their environment and create jobs.
“Hurunui’s farmers have had a particularly difficult few years, with the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake causing thousands of landslides and significant damage to large areas of land,” O’Connor said.
“This project will help farmers recover and prepare for the future by developing agricultural environmental plans that will help improve the productivity and sustainability of their farms.”
“Producing food and fiber for the world with strong environmental credentials will create more value for our products and is a critical part of our“ Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our economic potential ”roadmap and New Zealand’s economic recovery from Covid- 19.
“An important component of all these projects is that they are run by farmers and the community. Farmers working directly with each other through local recruitment groups means they can develop and share their knowledge of what works for them and provide a connected network of support and advice. “
